4 Safflower
It seems she's having a good time while he's away.
A river breeze blew, and the last embers in the smoldering pile emitted an orange-red glow, barely extinguished.
Du Zhijin unleashed a sword aura, plunging the riverside into complete darkness.
Seeing this, Ying Jianhua retorted, "You have to use a sword for such a trivial matter?"
She wasn't annoyed and smiled, "A natal sword, like hands and feet, has long been integrated with a sword cultivator's own body, so naturally one can use it to do whatever one wants."
"It sounds like a tyrant who played with the feudal lords by lighting beacon fires, a waste of talent, a pearl hidden in the dust." His stomach was finally satisfied, and his thoughts became more expansive and varied than before. He rattled off a string of sarcastic remarks, then suddenly asked, "As a Taoist practitioner, do you not abstain from grains? Or is it that one must reach a certain level to abstain from food?"
Du Zhijin retorted, "Which kind of person do you think I am?" After speaking, she flaunted her sword with a flourish, making a blatant hint.
Ying Jianhua turned his head, determined to contradict him: "The latter. His skills are not up to par."
Sure enough, her sword-wielding motion faltered. Suddenly, the river began to surge, like a ferocious beast trying to break free of its chains, rushing recklessly onto the shore. Startled by this turn of events, he stumbled back several steps. In an instant, a figure swiftly raised her sword and brought it down; two invisible forces clashed, but ultimately she gained the upper hand, and the river returned to calm.
The sword reflected the moonlight, illuminating a dazzling white. Except for the cliff rocks dampened by the waves, everything was exactly the same as before.
Du Zhijin's voice rang out leisurely: "Doctor Ying, is my skill still not good enough?"
Ying Jianhua was taken aback, then realized that she had done it on purpose, and was momentarily speechless.
Are all sword cultivators this childish...? He glanced at her indifferently, but when his peripheral vision caught the bloodstains on her chest, he suddenly froze, feeling a surge of blood rushing to his head: "Du Zhijin! Are you out of your mind to play such a trick on me?!"
Du Zhijin's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Oh no, I forgot about that... Seeing that the person had walked quite a distance because of her anger, she had no choice but to chase after them while apologizing profusely: "Doctor, I know I was wrong, I will definitely change next time—no, there will be no next time! I swear to the Three Pure Ones! Doctor Ying, Doctor Ying—"
The long, drawn-out syllable was carried away by the wind and reached his ears. Ying Jianhua didn't want to pay attention, cursing herself for bringing this upon herself. But then she seemed to hear the trembling in her voice, as if she was in too much pain to speak.
After a moment of inexplicable inner turmoil, he turned around with a cold face and stared at her silently.
The person he risked his life to save is not allowed to die unless he gives the order.
Huh? What are you looking at me for?
Du Zhijin was puzzled and hesitated before handing over his sword.
Ying Jianhua laughed in exasperation: "What, you really treat your natal sword like your own sibling? Am I a blacksmith or a doctor? What can you possibly learn by touching a sword?"
Oh, so it was to take her pulse by hand. Look at the mess this has made... Du Zhijin awkwardly sheathed his sword and obediently extended his hand.
Seeing him frowning and remaining silent, she cautiously asked, "Am I... alright?"
"Now you're scared?" Ying Jianhua said coolly, "It's alright, you still have a long time to live, a full three days."
This means she's not allowed to leave the house for three days... She really holds a grudge, even though she won the bet. Du Zhijin was unconvinced and muttered under her breath.
He must have heard him, for the first time, a murderous glint appeared in his handsome eyes: "What did you say?"
Overwhelmed by the overwhelming murderous aura, she immediately changed her tune: "It's nothing! I said I will definitely follow the doctor's orders from now on and will do whatever the doctor says!"
"Hmph." He neither responded to her flattery nor refuted her, showing no sign of calming down.
As he pondered his expression, Du Zhijin felt uneasy.
The Master said that medicine and poison are inseparable, a truly profound statement. After all, in certain situations, a doctor can also become a murderer.
She understood.
————
Under the candlelight, Ying Jianhua removed the gauze wrapped around her entire shoulder. With each glance, his brow furrowed, as if the person beneath him was nearing death.
"A pure heart stores essence and concentrates spirit; if the heart's blood spills out, it is tantamount to damaging the foundation, which may lead to the primordial spirit being deprived of nourishment..."
Du Zhijin seemed completely unconcerned about his own life or death, his gaze fixed on the faded yet finely stitched collar of Ying's clothes, asking all sorts of questions: "Dr. Ying, you can do needlework?"
Ying Jianhua tightened her collar and said coldly, "Yes, I can. I learned by sewing intestines for people. What, you want to try?"
"Doctor, do you feel that your attitude towards patients has worsened?" "Have I? Where are the patients? Aren't only living people considered patients? Since when do I have to save even the dead? Wouldn't saving them be a waste of time?"
Du Zhijin fell completely silent, fearing that tomorrow he would be kicked out of the house by Doctor Ying, sword and all, simply because he stepped out with his left foot.
Ah, if I go out, I might really get thrown out.
Fortunately, Dr. Ying won't throw her out tonight. Thank you, Dr. Ying.
As usual, one slept on a couch while the other slept on the floor. Du Zhijin earnestly invited him again, "The ground is cold. What if you catch a cold?"
Ying Jianhua took out all the clothes from the closet and covered herself with them, still stubbornly saying, "It's none of your business, go to sleep."
"Oh, okay, Dr. Ying, sweet dreams."
She hears this phrase every night she is awake. Is it a curse?
He lay on his side, his mind wandering, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of her shadow on the wall, her hands outstretched, making various hand gestures.
The candle wasn't blown out? Wait, wasn't the plan to let her rest early?!
"Du Zhijin, blow out the candle."
"OK."
Then another sword shadow appeared on the wall. He jumped up and shouted, "No swords allowed!!"
Are you crazy, or do you think you haven't bled enough?!
Du Zhijin exchanged a glance with him, his face full of embarrassment at being caught red-handed: "I'll just..." "Never mind, don't move, I'll go."
After blowing out the candle, one should see the painting staring blankly at the dark and sparse thatched roof, and after a long while, resignedly let out a sigh.
Once Du Zhijin is healthy enough to find and kill the monster, let her go. He doesn't want the consultation fee anymore. If she stays any longer, she might shorten his lifespan.
————
"I'm going to town and won't be back until tonight. Aunt Huang next door will bring you lunch. Don't go out without permission."
Ying Jianhua finished tidying up the bamboo basket and, seeing Du Zhijin looking lost in thought, frowned: "Are you even listening to me?"
Du Zhijin stared at the roof and repeated what he had just said: "When I come back tonight, Aunt Huang will bring me dinner, and I'm not allowed to go out."
After everyone had gone, Du Zhijin endured it on the couch for an hour, but finally couldn't resist. He tiptoed open the door and took a deep breath of fresh air in the courtyard.
The room door is a door, and the courtyard gate is a door. Doctor Ying didn't say which door you can't go out of. Theoretically speaking, as long as you don't leave the courtyard gate, it's not considered unauthorized departure!
Aside from having grilled fish by the river last night, she hadn't left her room for two whole days—no, she hadn't even stepped out of bed! For a sword cultivator who had grown up in the mountains, this was worse than death.
She waved to the children huddled together by the low wooden gate, their bodies barely concealed, and asked with a smile, "Want to come in and play?"
One of the girls was tempted, but the other children held onto her clothes tightly to prevent her from going in.
The girl thought for a moment, then looked up and asked innocently, "Sister, is Doctor Ying home?"
Du Zhijin shook his head: "He's not home, he went to the city. Is any of you sick?"
"No, no, no one is sick, we're perfectly healthy!" the children replied in unison, their innocent voices punctuated by a few trembling sobs. Du Zhijin was completely bewildered, but after a moment it dawned on him: "Are you afraid that if Doctor Ying is home, he'll give you acupuncture?"
I never expected Dr. Ying to have such a bad reputation among children; his effectiveness is comparable to that of the Big Bad Wolf.
The girl put one hand on her hip, pointed at her trembling companions behind her, and said with disdain, "I'm not afraid at all. Only Erzhu sheds tears because of drinking bitter medicine. Shame on you."
As she spoke, she wiped her face with her hand to show her disdain for Erzhu's behavior.
The child in the floral dress was probably Erzhu. Hearing this, his mouth twitched, and he looked like he was about to cry. The girl glared at him, and he immediately stopped crying, though two large tear bubbles still clung to the corners of his eyes, making him look extremely aggrieved.
Du Zhijin was very interested in the little king of children in front of her, and gave her a piece of licorice root to eat: "What's your name?"
The girl cut the licorice in half, put the long half in her pocket, and then put the short half in her mouth to chew: "My name is Honghua, the Honghua of green leaves and red flowers."
After thinking for a moment, Du Zhijin asked, "Is it the red flower that stands out amidst a sea of green?" "Hmm, yes, that's it!"
She smiled: "A good name."
Upon hearing this, Honghua proudly straightened her back, her eyes darting around as she leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Sister, since you can recite poetry, you're definitely not a flower thief. Tell me quietly, and I won't tell anyone else, are you a fox spirit or a female ghost?"
Even the bravest person like Honghua couldn't help but shudder at the mention of the word "female ghost." Du Zhijin was taken aback at first, then puzzled: "Fox spirits and female ghosts?"
Her gaze swept over the row of trembling little radishes outside the wooden gate, and suddenly it dawned on her: "Is it what your parents said?"
That day, Ying Jianhua and she locked eyes on the couch, and a scream attracted the villagers, sparking all sorts of strange rumors. She thought those rumors would fall apart in a day or two, but they became increasingly outrageous, with even children coming to verify them.
She found it amusing and patiently taught Honghua how to distinguish between demons and ghosts: "Ghosts have no shadows, while demons usually cannot completely hide their animal characteristics, such as horns, beards, tails, and furry ears."
Honghua learned it and counted on her fingers: "Sister has a shadow, but no horns, beard, tail, or furry ears, so sister is neither a ghost nor a demon, but a human!"
She then pointed to herself and quickly drew a parallel: "I also have a shadow, and I don't have horns, a beard, a tail, or hairy ears. I am also a human being."
The other children listened and observed each other, racking their brains to find evidence that each other was human. One boy, because of his thick facial hair, was almost mistaken by his companions for a "bearded monster."
After learning how to identify it, Honghua soon lost interest in the simple game and became curious about Xingyue instead: "Sister, what is this?"
Ironware was precious, and the children in the village had never seen swords, spears, or halberds. Du Zhijin originally wanted to show her his skills and inspire the children's yearning for sword cultivation, but as soon as his hand touched Xingyue, Ying Jianhua's angry glare flashed through his mind.
...Never mind, let's try a different approach.
Her eyes searched around and landed on a pile of dry firewood, which made them light up.
Got it!
Ying Jianhua's trip went relatively smoothly. He bought most of the medicines he wanted, and he made an appointment with the pharmacy to pick up the rest tomorrow.
Therefore, he was in a good mood, thinking that he might be able to reduce Du Zhijin's sentence a little, and take her to the stream again tomorrow.
But Dr. Ying's joy came to an abrupt end the moment he saw the courtyard full of children.
A group of children surrounded Du Zhijin, seven or eight pairs of eyes wide open, shouting: "I want a goose!" "I want a rooster!" "Dragon! Dragon is the most majestic!"
It was Honghua, with her sharp eyes, who noticed his presence and exclaimed, "Dr. Ying is back!"
Du Zhijin's smile froze, and she slowly looked up to meet his gaze.
Doctor Ying sneered.
It seems she's having a great time while he's away.
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